Fighting

Charismatic actor Channing Tatum stars as Shawn MacArthur, a New York used-book street vendor and bare-knuckles fighter (a desirable skill on the sidewalks of the Big Apple). Shawn is spotted by an ambitious entrepreneur (more of a hustler, colorfully played by Terrence Howard) who books him for a no-holds-barred match in a church-basement fight club. The $5,000 purse is enough to make Shawn reconsider whether he should be selling musty tomes on Sixth Avenue, and before you can say, “shake hands and come out fighting,” he's heading down a new career path. Will he stay true to his humble roots and keep dating a cute single-mom waitress (Zulay Henao), or will he succumb to the lure of easy money and lose his soul? Plot-wise, Fighting is pretty hoary stuff, serving up situations that were already clichéd back in the silent-movie era (of course, the fight sequences are more brutal and dynamic today). Tatum's inner brute stays bottled up, for the most part; he doesn't have the thuggish strut or bravado of, say, Vin Diesel—but whether that's his performance or Dito Montiel's direction (or both), the restraint makes the character more convincing and the film more compelling. A strong optional purchase. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include both the unrated and theatrical versions of the film, deleted scenes (8 min.), and trailers. Exclusive to the Blu-ray release is a bonus digital copy of the film and the BD-Live function. Bottom line: a small extras package for a often winning yet formulaic film.] (E. Hulse)